I love banana bread. I could eat it pretty much every day, all year round. But since many recipes are more like banana cake than banana bread, with lots of sugar and refined flour, it’s not the healthiest option for breakfast. I had been searching for a more virtuous option for a few weeks, so imagine my delight when one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen, featured one on her site only a few days ago! It was fate. I didn’t have any millet seeds on hand, but from Deb’s description it sounds like they make a great addition. I also decided to make this gluten-free, but whole wheat flour would work just as well. So far, the best gluten-free flour mix that I have found is Cup4Cup, which Thomas Keller helped develop (this post was not sponsored by them in any way, that’s just been my experience).
As you can see by the photos, I couldn’t keep my roommates away long enough to get a full shot of the banana bread, but hopefully that speaks to the taste. Also, I still don’t have loaf pans so I used my 9-inch cake pans, which work fine. (And actually, I almost like it better because you get more of the top part — which is my favorite).
Healthier Banana Bread (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
4 over-ripe bananas
1 egg
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch cloves
1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour mix (or whole wheat flour)
Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan (or a 9-inch cake pan). In a large bowl, mash bananas until soft and smooth. Whisk in egg, then oil, then sugar and syrup. Add vanilla, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cloves and flour and mix well. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool pan on rack.
